For the second straight game, the Mets blew a 4-0 lead. But unlike Tuesday night, Wednesday’s game had a happy ending, as Pete Alonso drove home the winning run in the ninth inning, as the Mets beat the Diamondbacks, 7-6, to take the rubber game of the three-game series in Arizona.
The Mets staked David Peterson to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, thanks in large part to a three-run homer by James McCann. But Peterson gave up five runs in the bottom of the inning and didn’t even record three outs before his day was over.
McCann tied the game with an RBI single in the second inning and the Mets re-took the lead in the sixth on an RBI hit by Brandon Drury. But that lead was short-lived, too, as Seth Lugo gave up a run in his second inning of work to make it 6-6 after six innings.
Francisco Lindor started the winning rally in the ninth inning with his third hit of the game and he took second on a fielding error by the center fielder. Lindor went to third on a passed ball and scored when Alonso rattled a single past a drawn-in infield.
Edwin Diaz had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save, with Miguel Castro picking up the win with two scoreless innings.
The Mets pounded out 16 hits, with Lindor, McCann and Dominic Smith each getting three. The team heads to San Diego for a four-game set against the Padres.
Lets take 2 in san Diego and sweep Baltimore for a 6-3 road trip.
We could be catching the Padres at either exactly the right time or exactly the wrong time.
Can’t wait to see Jake against them. Hope Tatis can play bc that is a must see matchup.
SD the best litmus test yet for the Metsies. Nobody wants to see the Mets come to town these days. Not only is there the great starting pitching, but the little team that could seems to find ways to win. Just as the Bench Mob was probably wearing a bit thin, here come the regulars! Lindor, McCann, Dom, and Pete are seeing the ball after months of huh?
If Rojas goes to Lugo in the 10th on Tuesday, maybe they get a sweep in AZ. The key to every series still comes down to the bullpens, dammit. And bullpens need visionary management… not sure we got that with Luis R.
His bullpen management has been pretty good All season.
I agree with Boomboom. The bullpen has been great, and although I may have thought that I would have used it differently at times, overall I can’t complain. Also, its very easy to have visionary management in hindsight…
Gut Reaction: Thank goodness that the offense showed up.
Alonso, McCann, Smith, Lindor, Villar , Pillar , Drury and McKinney have more than an .850+ OPS in the last week.
Peterson was improving his season and lowering his ERA ….. until today. Chalk in up to # 4 starter that had an awful game. Gsellman picked up the team.
Drury can replace the injured Villar at 3B . I hope that the injury is minor. Villar has played well.
Glad the Mets kept Drury and sent down Maybin. He’s had a number of big hits since he arrived.
This is just the type of game that the Mets have let slip away. These games happen over the course of 162, but to recover and pull out the win, even against a poor team, is another sign of this group learning how to win. Several players deserve kudos, I’ll mention Gsellman and Diaz.
Peterson now as gone less than 5 in half of his starts. To me he looks like he needs more grooming and consistency, and especially needs to learn how to avoid the big inning. I like his mettle, and at this point they are down so many starters that they have little choice but to run him out there. He has Baltimore next and really needs a quality start there.
Maybe Mr. Slurvy can continue to build on his recent success, but a low cost back end starter could be the biggest acquisition need now, especially with the packed schedule prior to the all star break.
Eikhoff has been pitching well in Syracuse, but has no options so if they make a change, I can see Peterson being sent down for a while and Eikhoff holding the #4 spot until Carrasco is ready. Luchessi in the 5 spot. Maybe an acquisition at the deadline – I like Matt Boyd from the Tigers.
Very astute observation, TJ. That the Mets would traditionally lose that kind of game, especially after starting June with a disheartening loss the night before. One bad loss easily became a handful in the old regimes. You and I might be watching for signs that this team can break that mold and show resiliency and grit.
As to the better pitching they will be facing, indeed, this will be a test of the real Mets’ offense. Reliable offense doesn’t mean putting up huge amounts of runs, but being able to scratch across the few needed in closely-pitched games. In those games, manufacturing runs and playing tight defense usually prevails… and of course, the bullpens… requires good managerial decisions… we shall see. I thought Lugo’s comments indicated he should have been used in the previous game… and I agree.